Palace Malice secures elite status with Jim Dandy win

By Bill GiauqueColumnist

Published: Monday, July 29, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, July 28, 2013 at 11:48 p.m.

Not content with having created confusion in the three-year-old division with a three-length win in the Belmont Stakes (gr. 1), Palace Malice proved he belongs at the top of the division with a one-length score in the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. 2) at Saratoga on Saturday.

The graduate of Niall Brennan's Training Stable in Ocala experienced a troubled three-year-old campaign leading up to the Triple Crown races. Owned by Cot Campbell's Dogwood Stable, Palace Malice had a wide trip on both turns in one Louisiana Derby prep and was blocked along the rail in another.

After a close second-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. 1), the son of Curlin went on to the Kentucky Derby. For this race he was equipped with blinkers. This unfortunate experiment with blinkers caused him to alter his racing style. Instead of stalking the pacesetters, Palace Malice flashed to the lead, running past the grandstand for the first time.

Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith did not want to fight his mount as they set blistering fractions for the first six furlongs of the race, the fourth-fastest fractions in Derby history. The early exertions caused Palace Malice to falter in the latter stages of the race.

Skipping the Preakness Stakes, Palace Malice finally got an uncompromised trip in the Belmont Stakes, defeating Oxbow, the Preakness winner, by 3 1/4 lengths. Once again Saturday, he enjoyed a clean trip under jockey Mike Smith, sitting just off the pacesetting Moreno and taking charge in the stretch.

Will Take Charge, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, came on late in the stretch to take second.

In addition to these horses, other colts in contention for the three-year-old championship include Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner and Verrazano, the pre-race favorite for the Kentucky Derby.

An Ocala highlight to this competition involves the Brennan brothers — Niall and Ian. Between the two Ocala-based trainers, they won the Triple Crown. The older brother Niall gave Derby winner Orb and Belmont winner Palace Malice their early training before sending them to the track, while Ian prepared Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow for the races at Stonestreet Training and Rehabilitation Center.

Orb races for the Phipps Family Stable and Stuart Janney, while Oxbow races for Calumet Farm.

The road to the championship from this point leads through the $1 million Haskell Stakes (gr. 1) at Monmouth Park, the Travers Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga, the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont this fall, and, ultimately, the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November.

Meanwhile, closer to home, the on-going battle over racing dates between Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course continues with the competition reaching a duration of almost one month. The two tracks, located just eight miles apart, are racing head-to-head on Saturdays and Sundays.

As we know from the days when Gulfstream Park and Hialeah Race Track battled over racing dates for decades, this competition could be ugly for one track or the other, and possibly both.

In recent developments Calder, which is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., reached an agreement with horsemen on a purse contract. The agreement runs through the end of the year. Without a contract, the horsemen's organization potentially could have prevented Calder's simulcast signal being sent to other tracks and betting facilities around the nation. Wagering from other tracks and betting facilities is a much larger source of revenue than on-track wagering.

And the converse is also true. The signals from other tracks to Calder could have been cut off, depriving Calder of an important revenue stream.

Aside from this development the head-to-head competition continues on weekends. With both tracks racing on the same days, the competition for horses is fierce. At this time, it appears that Gulfstream is winning this battle.

With the two tracks wrapping up the fourth weekend of competition, Gulfstream's cards are attracting about 13 percent more horses than Calder. Gulfstream, which is owned by the Stronach Group is also having a significantly higher daily handle when the two tracks are running head to head.

Gulfstream is publishing its daily handle while Calder is not.

Meanwhile, the two sides continue to negotiate.

In odds an ends, I found another name to add to my list of interesting horse names — Mess in a Dress. Now, I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing one of two things motivated the selection of this name for a horse.

My first guess is that some divorced man named this horse after his ex-wife. My second guess is that a man is describing some woman he knows without meaning to be malicious. In either instance, I thought it was an entertaining name for a horse. But it will not end up in a book of great names.

<p>Not content with having created confusion in the three-year-old division with a three-length win in the Belmont Stakes (gr. 1), Palace Malice proved he belongs at the top of the division with a one-length score in the Jim Dandy Stakes (gr. 2) at Saratoga on Saturday.</p><p>The graduate of Niall Brennan's Training Stable in Ocala experienced a troubled three-year-old campaign leading up to the Triple Crown races. Owned by Cot Campbell's Dogwood Stable, Palace Malice had a wide trip on both turns in one Louisiana Derby prep and was blocked along the rail in another.</p><p>After a close second-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes (gr. 1), the son of Curlin went on to the Kentucky Derby. For this race he was equipped with blinkers. This unfortunate experiment with blinkers caused him to alter his racing style. Instead of stalking the pacesetters, Palace Malice flashed to the lead, running past the grandstand for the first time.</p><p>Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith did not want to fight his mount as they set blistering fractions for the first six furlongs of the race, the fourth-fastest fractions in Derby history. The early exertions caused Palace Malice to falter in the latter stages of the race.</p><p>Skipping the Preakness Stakes, Palace Malice finally got an uncompromised trip in the Belmont Stakes, defeating Oxbow, the Preakness winner, by 3 1/4 lengths. Once again Saturday, he enjoyed a clean trip under jockey Mike Smith, sitting just off the pacesetting Moreno and taking charge in the stretch.</p><p>Will Take Charge, trained by D. Wayne Lukas, came on late in the stretch to take second.</p><p>In addition to these horses, other colts in contention for the three-year-old championship include Orb, the Kentucky Derby winner and Verrazano, the pre-race favorite for the Kentucky Derby.</p><p>An Ocala highlight to this competition involves the Brennan brothers — Niall and Ian. Between the two Ocala-based trainers, they won the Triple Crown. The older brother Niall gave Derby winner Orb and Belmont winner Palace Malice their early training before sending them to the track, while Ian prepared Preakness Stakes winner Oxbow for the races at Stonestreet Training and Rehabilitation Center.</p><p>Orb races for the Phipps Family Stable and Stuart Janney, while Oxbow races for Calumet Farm.</p><p>The road to the championship from this point leads through the $1 million Haskell Stakes (gr. 1) at Monmouth Park, the Travers Stakes (gr. 1) at Saratoga, the Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont this fall, and, ultimately, the Breeders' Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November.</p><p>Meanwhile, closer to home, the on-going battle over racing dates between Gulfstream Park and Calder Race Course continues with the competition reaching a duration of almost one month. The two tracks, located just eight miles apart, are racing head-to-head on Saturdays and Sundays.</p><p>As we know from the days when Gulfstream Park and Hialeah Race Track battled over racing dates for decades, this competition could be ugly for one track or the other, and possibly both.</p><p>In recent developments Calder, which is owned by Churchill Downs, Inc., reached an agreement with horsemen on a purse contract. The agreement runs through the end of the year. Without a contract, the horsemen's organization potentially could have prevented Calder's simulcast signal being sent to other tracks and betting facilities around the nation. Wagering from other tracks and betting facilities is a much larger source of revenue than on-track wagering.</p><p>And the converse is also true. The signals from other tracks to Calder could have been cut off, depriving Calder of an important revenue stream.</p><p>Aside from this development the head-to-head competition continues on weekends. With both tracks racing on the same days, the competition for horses is fierce. At this time, it appears that Gulfstream is winning this battle.</p><p>With the two tracks wrapping up the fourth weekend of competition, Gulfstream's cards are attracting about 13 percent more horses than Calder. Gulfstream, which is owned by the Stronach Group is also having a significantly higher daily handle when the two tracks are running head to head.</p><p>Gulfstream is publishing its daily handle while Calder is not.</p><p>Meanwhile, the two sides continue to negotiate.</p><p>In odds an ends, I found another name to add to my list of interesting horse names — Mess in a Dress. Now, I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing one of two things motivated the selection of this name for a horse.</p><p>My first guess is that some divorced man named this horse after his ex-wife. My second guess is that a man is describing some woman he knows without meaning to be malicious. In either instance, I thought it was an entertaining name for a horse. But it will not end up in a book of great names.</p>